CSA - Week 3

Our week 3 basket was delivered on June 19th.  This basket was great!  We received:

Swiss Chard - $3.69
Spring Onions - $1.49
Garlic Scapes - $1
Sweet Cherries - $3.50
Variety of Greens - $3
Dulles Golf Center coupon for B1G1 bucket of balls - $8

Total value for this week: $20.68
Running total: $55.60

For dinner one evening, I made a tasty Swiss Chard saute and Apple & Bacon Stuffed Pork Chops from Beyond Bacon.

Swiss Chard Sauteing

Washed Swiss Chard

I sauteed the Swiss Chard in a bit of coconut oil with cranberries, pumpkin seeds, a garlic scape, and a splash of pomegranate balsamic vinegar (purchased from Ah Love Oil & Vinegar - awesome store!).

I purchased some pork chops from the Organic Butcher of McLean and pocketed them myself.  Then followed the recipe in Beyond Bacon.

Happy chops in the pot

The end result!

The chops were so tasty!  I took leftovers to work the next day and my coworkers were drooling!

Yum!

CSA - Week 2

Our CSA basket for week 2 was delivered on June 12th.  As you can see, I have a lot of catching up to do!

This week we received:

Sweet Cherries (1/2 pint) - $3.50
Asparagus - $3.99
Kale - $3.29
Spring Onions - $1.49

Total value for this week: $12.27
Total running CSA value: $34.92

I ate all the sweet cherries in one sitting!  I had forgotten to throw away my pits and stems when I was done and our pup, Rallo, decided to eat most of the pits.  I immediately called the vet to see if cherry pits were bad for dogs and, of course, they are!  The vet suggested watching him to see if he vomits or becomes lethargic before freaking out (too late!).  Luckily, he was perfectly fine!

We grilled the asparagus and used the spring onions in various dishes throughout the week.  I originally wanted to saute the kale but I decided to try out making some kale chips!  I used the Kale Chips recipe from Nom Nom Paleo (a blog that I love!).  I had to run to Whole Foods and purchase some avocado oil (which also makes a delicious mayo!).  Below, you'll see a picture of the kale chips ready to go into the oven.  Sadly, I didn't get an after picture!  Each batch baked for approximately 12 minutes and each batch was gone by the time the next batch was ready!  I did save enough to give a small bagful to my neighbor.  Rallo loved them too!  Too bad Chris didn't get a chance to try them.  :-)

Kale Chips - Pre-Oven

CSA - Week 1

Our first CSA delivery arrived at our home on June 5th.  We had left a cooler for the box to fit in on our front stoop.  A few days before I had received an email from Great Country Farms letting us know what we could expect to find in our box that week.

Our beautiful basket items!

Great Country Farms makes every effort to use organic and sustainable methods of farming where possible; however, they are not certified organic.  They do treat their orchards and some crops for pests when necessary.  For my cost comparison, I will compare organic food items except for orchard items with Harris Teeter prices (HT and Whole Foods are my "go to" grocery stores).

Here's what we got week 1:

Bunch of radishes - $1.79
Large bag of spinach - $7.89
2 pints strawberries - $3.50
Asparagus - $3.99 (non-organic price)
Bunch of spring onions - $1.49
Basil plant - $3.99 (price from local nursery)

The total estimated value of our share from week 1 is $22.65.

We grilled the asparagus, used some spinach in an omelet, sauteed the onions and spinach together with some garlic, made this amazing recipe for strawberry gelatin, used the radishes in a salad, and planted the basil plant.  We received a cute "Who's your farmer?" magnet in our basket!  Such a successful basket!

I cannot wait to get into our week 2 basket! 
 

Our CSA with Great Country Farms

This is the second year we are participating in a CSA from Great Country Farms!  Last year we had our share delivered to a group location which was in my husband's work building.  This year, our CSA is being delivered to our front door!

The CSA will run for 20 weeks from June 5th to October 16th.  Each basket is different and exciting!  When you purchase a CSA share through Great Country Farms, you receive free admission for every member of your household to visit the farm (regularly $10 per adult for each visit).  There are also weekly items you can pick for yourself (called U-Pick) at the farm included in the CSA cost.

This sounds like such a great price but I wonder if I am getting my money's worth.  The cost for a CSA share this year, including delivery and tax, is $618.45.  I plan to detail what items have arrived in my box each week and estimate the cost I would have to spend at the grocery or farmer's market.  I plan to do this for the season and see how much I have saved (well, hopefully saved!).

Do you participate in a CSA?

Strawberry Avocado Kale Salad with Bacon Kombucha Vinaigrette

Sounds tasty, right?  I found a recipe for Strawberry Avocado Kale Salad with Bacon Poppyseed Dressing from a blog called Laruen's Latest via Pinterest and said "holy moly, I have to make this!"  But, of course, I can never follow a recipe.  Besides, I didn't have any poppy seeds, nor did I have white vinegar, and I don't eat sugar.  So, here's how I made the salad:

Place as much kale, as many strawberries, avocado chunks, and pecans on a plate (or in a bowl) as desired.  Top with Bacon Kombucha Vinaigrette.  Serve and enjoy!

Bacon Kombucha Vinaigrette

½ c homemade mayonnaise (I use the recipe from Nourishing Traditions – you can also find it here)

1 T over-fermented kombucha

1 T grade B maple syrup*

4 strips crispy bacon, crumbled

S & P to taste

Whisk the mayonnaise, kombucha, and syrup together.  Add crumbled bacon.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Best served while the bacon is still warm.

This was enough dressing for 2-3 lunch sized salad portions.

*This makes a fairly sweet dressing.  If sweet dressings aren't your thing, cut back on the amount of syrup.

Easy Weeknight Dinners

I am always searching for easy, nutritious weeknight dinners.  We've found a set of two back-to-back dinners that we love - Blackened Chicken with Avocado Cream and Ginger Lime Chicken Bites both served with riced cauliflower.

I will buy 4 chicken breasts from The Organic Butcher and use two for each meal.  On the first night, I will prepare the riced cauliflower (recipe below).  Both the blackened chicken and ginger lime chicken bites are quick and easy so it's a toss up of which to prepare the first night.

Riced Cauliflower

1 head of cauliflower
2 Tbsp coconut oil
S&P to taste
Dash garlic (fresh chopped, garlic powder, or garlic salt)
1 Tbsp chopped cilantro

- Chop the cauliflower into a food processor and pulse until the pieces are the size of couscous to rice
- Place the coconut oil in a skillet over medium heat
- Add all remaining ingredients to the hot skillet and cook for about 4 minutes 

Blackened Chicken

I was inspired by the Blackened Chicken recipe from Sarcastic Cooking.  It takes about 15 minutes from start to finish.  I have changed up a few things.  Here's how I make it:

2 chicken breasts
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp cumin
2 tsp of oil to fry (coconut oil, butter, or lard)

- Mix all seasonings and rub onto chicken
- Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat
- Add chicken breasts and cook approximately 5 minutes on each side covered

For the Avocado Cream, mix 1/2 an avocado with 1 tbsp of full fat plain yogurt.

I like to serve slices of chicken on top of the riced cauliflower topped with the avocado cream.  Delish!

 

 

 

 

 Ginger Lime Chicken Bites

I found this recipe through Pinterest from The Healthy Gluten Free Life.  I actually make this recipe exactly as written except I only use 2 chicken breasts instead of 3.  I like it a little more saucy so that the riced cauliflower has a chance to soak up some of the sauce.  I love adding a few more green onions and sesame seeds on top.  This recipe also takes about 15 minutes start to finish.

What are some of your favorite, fast, nutritious weeknight dinners?

Review - U.S. Wellness Meats

First view of the package

Two weeks ago, I ordered lots of meat from U.S. Wellness Meats.  I placed my order on Sunday the 10th and the meat was at my front door by 11am on the 13th!  I played it risky and did not come home from work to put my meat away until after 4pm.  Everything was still happily frozen!  There was a very thick Styrofoam cooler protecting my frozen meats inside of a cardboard box.  Everything was packaged beautifully.  Here are all of the items I purchased:

Beef bacon - delish!

Bison jerky - absolutely amazing!  I cannot wait to order more!

Ground pork.  

Pork tenderloin roast - two pack, 1 lb each.

Spicy beef jerky and pemmican sticks.  I was so excited about the pemmican sticks but I am not in love.  Maybe I will give them another try but I am not a fan of the texture.

My meats were delivered on time, extremely fresh tasting, and competitively priced.  I am in love with U.S. Wellness Meats and I will definitely order from them in the future!